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Liam Marsh Photography

High Quality Images of the Natural World
  • Wildlife
  • Lepidoptera
  • Fresh Water
  • Natural History
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Searching for snails

August 06, 2015

Planning

This was one shot where I planned out everything on paper first before ever touching a camera. I had been reading an article on snails and thought it odd that a night time creature should so often be pictured during the day. I therefore set out to produce a picture that accurately captured this behaviour as well as the human relationship with snails. It took me several attempts to get this picture. I even started keeping snails in a tank in my kitchen in order to have a ready supply of subjects.

Equipment

Canon 5D MKii, Canon 8-15mm fisheye, Canon macro twin lite (with home made diffusers and blue gels) torch

Fisheye lens with macro twin lite and diffusers

Fisheye lens with macro twin lite and diffusers

The shoot

Checking the forecast I guessed we would have a nice clear evening. I set everything up during the day. I had my camera in place, the subject ready and waiting. I also turned on all of the lights in the house for them to warm up. I then sat and waited for dusk. The trick to creating the impression of night time is working at dusk. That way you get a nice deep blue to the sky and not black. To complete the affect I added blue gels to my flash. This gives the scene a much more pleasing, natural look. The snail in not so obviously lit by the flash. The final touch was to include my father in the shot directing a torch towards the camera. This added a much needed human element and back-story to the image. It also acts as a visually interesting addition to an otherwise straight forward shot. 

Tags: wide angle macro, canon, speedlites, flash
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